What is Divine Mercy? Divine Mercy is the term used that describes the love of God beyond anything that humankind deserves. Mercy is divine charity toward those who have sinned. Despite the fact that we are sinners, God continues to call us to be forgiven, gives us even more love, removes the punishment due to our sins, and blesses us beyond what we might have received from Him had we not sinned. [1] “Divine Mercy! This isthe Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity at the dawn of the third millennium….” [2] This mercy of forgiveness is our beginning as Saint Augustine says, “a sacrament of new life which begins here and now with the forgiveness of all past sins.” [3] God wills to not only forgive our sins, but to give us a new life. What great love, that He not only removes the bad but fills us with good!

What is Divine Mercy Sunday? Divine Mercy was first revealed to a Polish sister who is now a saint named Saint Faustina. When she was 18, Saint Faustina began receiving visions of Jesus appearing to her. He directed her to enter a convent where he continued to appear to her and speak to her. She was asked by Jesus to promote His Divine Mercy, and establish the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. He spoke these words to Saint Faustina, “I am King of Mercy. I desire that this image (the Divine Mercy image) be displayed in public on the first Sunday after Easter. That Sunday is the Feast of Mercy. Through the Word Incarnate, I make known the bottomless depth of My mercy.” [4]

In 2000, Saint John Paul II celebrated her canonization on May 1st, the Sunday after Easter Sunday. There he proclaimed that, “from now on throughout the Church this Sunday will be called “Divine Mercy Sunday.”

Who is Saint Faustina? St. Faustina was a Polish woman who became a nun at the age of twenty. She joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. Their mission was to care for and educate troubled young women. In the 1930’s, she began receiving our Lord’s message of mercy and was asked by Jesus to spread this message to the whole world. She died in 1938 of tuberculosis. Soon after her death, her sisters discovered that Saint Faustina had kept a diary while in the convent. This book, now an international bestseller, can be found in any Catholic Bookstore. During her visions, Jesus ordered her to have an image painted of him with the words “Jesus I trust in you.” at the bottom.[5] She did as Jesus commanded and the Image is now an intimate part of Divine Mercy Sunday.

What is the Divine Mercy Image? The image of Divine Mercy that was revealed to St. Faustina by Jesus shows the resurrected Jesus in a white garment with two rays coming from his heart; one is red and the other white. The red and white represent his blood and water that poured out when the soldier pierced His side. The blood recalls the sacrifice of Golgotha and the mystery of the Eucharist while the white represents the water of our Baptism and the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit. Despite the work of the artist, Saint Faustina was very sad about the way the painting had turned out. She wept to the Lord and cried, “Who will paint You as beautiful as You are?” Jesus responded, “Not in the beauty of the color, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace.” [6]

Why does the Church celebrate this feast? The Church celebrates this feast because of the authenticity of Saint Faustina and the mercy Christ shows us. It is good to note here that Divine Mercy Sunday is a relatively new feast that was established because of Saint Faustina’s revelations, however, its primary focus has nothing to do with Saint Faustina. Her feast day is celebrated on October 8th. The Second Sunday of Easter is, and has always been, celebrated as a solemnity because it is the Octave Day of Easter. The title “Divine Mercy Sunday” only amplifies the importance of the feast day. In making this “Divine Mercy Sunday,” Saint John Paul II harkens back to the early church father, St. Augustine, who called this particular Sunday, “the compendium of the days of mercy.” [7] The early church celebrated the Resurrection, the clearest manifestation of the Divinity of Jesus, with eight days of commemoration, which St. Augustine referred to as the “days of mercy and pardon.” The octave began with Easter Sunday and concluded with
Dominica in Albis, or Sunday in White, which Augustine referred to as “the compendium of the days of mercy.”

Our Lord Jesus told St. Faustina, “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to me, even though its sins be as scarlet.... Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” [8] Jesus is plainly telling us, we not only should celebrate His resurrection on Easter, but also accept His invitation of Mercy and grace for the forgiveness of our sins. The Church has made praying the Divine Mercy Novena and doing these things that the Lord has asked a plenary indulgence. The plenary indulgence that was issued for Divine Mercy Sunday does not change the promises of Our Lord through St. Faustina. Rather, it provides the Church's highest mark of approval and endorsement and gives us more time to go to Confession. [9]

What should we do to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday as Jesus instructs us? There are many things we can do. First, Christ told us that the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy but there must also be acts of mercy. “I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it”. [10] Following the Second Vatican Council on the Sacred Liturgy, we are encouraged to do popular devotions in order to lead us in the liturgical season, and lead us in accordance with the sacred liturgy. (#13)

Thus, to fittingly observe the Feast of Mercy, we should:
1. On Good Friday, start the Divine Mercy Novena
2. Celebrate the Feast on the Sunday after Easter;
3. Sincerely repent of all our sins;
4. Place our complete trust in Jesus;
5. Go to Confession, preferably before Divine Mercy Sunday;
6. Receive Holy Communion on the day of the Feast;
7. Venerate the Image of The Divine Mercy;
8. Be merciful to others, through our actions, words, and prayers on their behalf.